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Dan's Hamptons
May 2009
www.danshamptons.com
Why do you go out to dinner?
Why does anyone, particularly now?
I go because I want to relax, be served and eat food that I don't make at home (duck, lobster, anything French). Other people go for an evening's entertainment in a happening atmosphere that may include (in the Hamptons at least) a celebrity sighting.
Some go for ambiance - design, décor or setting that can't be found anywhere else. Diehard foodies care little about anything else but what's on the plate.
You can go to B. Smith's, which just reopened for the season on Long Wharf Marina in Sag Harbor, for a few of those reasons and be happy. First, the setting is unparalleled in Sag Harbor - right on the pier. Funny, the inside is lovely with its dramatic yet simple black and white décor; and the deck is pretty basic (white plastic tables and chairs). But why bother doing anything else when you can offer a dining experience that's like being on a boat deck out on the bay?
That's where we sat. It was cool and grey out, but who cares? The water sparkled and the air felt like summer. Swallows flitted by, crows squawked, gulls perched on posts. I dined with another adult and a six-year old boy - a good reason to opt for outdoor seating.
The service on this early Saturday evening (only the second night the place was open this season) was laid back and friendly. Who knows what will happen on a Saturday in July, but at that moment, all was well.
The dinner entrées at the restaurant range from $26 for Pan Roasted Free Range Chicken, to mid-$30s. A little high even for the Hamptons, but did I mention you're right on the water? Appetizers are $12-$18 (for the mussels, which could be a light entrée).
You can go one of two ways with food at B. Smith's: keep it simple and go for the great selections from the raw bar (from oysters to crab legs) as appetizers, mussels and salad for the meal; or go all out and dive into the bold offerings of chef John Poon.
If you opt for the latter, you'd better not be a timid eater. Poon, a native of Hong Kong who has studied both classic French and American cuisines, lets it rip with his flavor-packed offerings. We went that route, but next time, I'll probably change it up and go with some simpler dishes interspersed as a palate cleanser.
We started with a rack of ribs for the boy, shrimp dumplings and crab cakes for us. (The restaurant doesn't have a kid's menu per se, but they were willing to do that order with fries; and when we left I think I saw a kid eating a quesadilla.) But the boy didn't like "B's Sweet Moppin Sauce" on the ribs, so we ate those too. I found them to be moist, meaty and fall-off-the-bone tender. The sauce, made in house, was mildly tangy with a touch of clove. We requested a plain order for the child and oddly, they were dry - maybe due to opening weekend kinks in the kitchen. The corn just shouldn't have been served. Wait for the local season.
Shrimp dumplings were delicate and tasty with shards of ginger, and the Thai dipping sauce did the trick as a contrast. I wasn't wild about the Low County Crab Cake. It had a nice, mild flavor and a good crunch - but I like more crab and less cake.
For entrees, I opted for Pan Tanned Spicy Jumbo Scampi with coconut black rice and fresh mango glaze - enormous meaty salty shrimp, perfectly cooked. Forget the glaze, they were wading in a mango/cream sauce - like a warm mango sorbet. So decadent and deliciously over the top. The rice was too soft and the flavor too heavy for my taste - I'd have preferred plain rice maybe with a little saffron to set off that sauce.
All the seafood we had was fresh with good texture. But the sauce for the Pan Fried Block Island Swordfish knocked my socks off. In fact, Poon should bottle some of these concoctions - the BBQ sauce on the ribs, the mango dream sauce, and this one, called "spicy sour sauce." It's complex. Plenty of heat tamed with richness. Our server, Cornelius, found out it had chili powder, onion, ginger, lemongrass, chicken stock - and I'm sure a lot more. The swordfish was served with a plantain hash - tasty on its own, but for me, again, the powerful flavors fought the main course.
For dessert ice cream and sorbets were serviceable. But the warm Bourbon Street Bread Pudding was a winner: Smooth creamy texture - more like a soufflé - buttery/bourbon-y sauce. It rendered me helpless.
B. Smith's has an adequate wine list - I think the place is more about lovely summer cocktails to enjoy on the deck before the meal as you savor the sunset.
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Boating Times Long Island
July 2008
www.boatingtimesli.com
The name “Barbara Smith” conveys elegance and grace to many, and her Sag Harbor restaurant does its namesake proud. Whether dining indoors or out, diners can gaze on boats and yachts that in some cases are larger than many homes. But though the view alone is stupendous, it is just the beginning of what B. Smith's offers.
Though there are several nearby marinas, our hostess recommended that readers call the Waterfront Marina at 1 Bay Street (631-725-3886) to make arrangements for docking your boat for a few hours. As the town and the restaurant gets crowded in the summer, reservations are a must both for dining and docking (B. Smith's is open Monday-Saturday for lunch and dinner, and Sunday for brunch and dinner). There is a lovely bar and opportunities for drinks harbor side. But as the kitchen seems to place equal value on creativity and taste, opting for a meal at B. Smith's along with your drinks might very well be the highlight of your boating day.
There is no lack of seafood on the dinner menu, such as Curried Crisped Oysters, Catfish Fingers, and Lobster Quesadillas, along with crab cakes and mussels. Beef and chicken also appear on the menu, such as the Pan Roasted Free Range Chicken or Grilled Black Angus Sirloin. Lunch menus are more relaxed, with many salad and sandwich choices, though these are certainly not your common salad and sandwich choices, unless you regularly dine on Long Wharf Fresh Lobster Salad and Seared Rare Thai Tuna Steak Burger! Lobster reappears at brunch in the Homemade Lobster Quiche, along with Cinnamon Brioche French Toast and a Sag Harbor Seafood Omelet, among other menu items. Barbecued ribs wear “B.S.'s ‘Sweet Success' Sauce” at lunch, brunch, or dinner.
The lunch and brunch menus have vegetarian offerings among the salads and grilled and roasted vegetable offerings, but at dinner last month the waiter realized that besides the Tumble of Farmer's Market Greens salad appetizer, there was nothing on the menu suitable for a vegan that evening. However, within minutes he had consulted with the kitchen and a delicious black-eyed pea soup and pasta with vegetables dish were offered.
As might be expected, B. Smith's shines at dessert time. Both the Key Lime pie (the perfect combination of tart and sweet) and the flavorful coconut sorbet with luscious fresh fruit embodied the dining experience at B. Smith's, where its wharf side location beckons boaters to dine while the lingering taste of the food sends you back to your boat well-fed and happy.
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New York Newsday
6/14/98
By: Peter Gianotti
Barbara Smith has a summer home in Sag Harbor. Now, her restaurant does, too. Smith, the TV personality, doyenne d'entertaining, and model restaurateur, is on WNBC, and at cateries in the Theater District, NYC and Union Station, D.C. You'll also see B. Smith in framed photos with H. Clinton and T. Gore, among others, and on assorted magazine covers at the entrance to the waterside establishment, which she owns with her husband, producer Dan Gasby.
Their latest confection has breezed in as a summertime appetizer, prettily perched at Malloy's Marina at the very end of Main Street.
The previous occupants have included George Studley's Long Wharf and the Amazon Deck. But the joint never looked this bright and welcoming.
Its casual style is The Full-Hampton, but gracefully so, with sunny, creamy yellow walls and lighter molding, plus blue and white stripped half-moon banquettes.
You'll have a lovely view of twilight on the water from this long dining room. Or enjoy the sunset alfresco, from a table on the deck.
On weekends, B. Smith's is wildly popular, and noisy. Service can be erratic. But the mood, nevertheless, remains upbeat. The kitchen is reliable and the food often very good.
Simplicity counts, especially with the fat, grilled asparagus spears that corral a sweet, union of corn and lobster. Curled through not entirely "crisped" oysters get a spirited boost from the coconut-wasabi dip, a sweet-hot jump-starter. The catfish crisps are small fries, sort of fish sans chips, and are accented with a zesty remoulade and tartar sauce.
The chowder of lobster, corn and chives is rich, but a trifle under-seasoned and lukewarm. Consider instead the roast tomato gazpacho, accented with a scallop garnish.
A salad of good greens receives its personality from crumbled Maytag blue cheeses or toasted goat cheese. The tower of oven-roasted tomato, smoked and fresh mozzarellas, grilled Vidalia onions and olive oil sounds more inviting than it is. The combo is a little dull.
The serious salad at B. Smith's involved a whole lobster deftly "dressed" in a "Fifties fashion", which must mean spiked mayo and paired with slaw. Anyway, very good. And while advertised and priced as an entrée, it works even better as a starter. "Pan griddled crab-cake" is loosely bound, plump, meaty and flavorful atop greens.
The "pan tanned sweet chili prawns" are tougher than they should be, though the caramelized plantains alongside will keep you picking. The sea-fare improves dramatically with the "down island jerked Montauk mako" a meaty cut, sparked with spice.
Best however, are two gutsy dishes: "shag bark hickory ribs," a huge portion of tenderness and taste nearly draping over the sides of the platter, and a husky pork chops finished with ham-hock gravy, greens and fried plantains. They are meaty and grand.
During the early weeks of B. Smith's the finales have been few. The Sweet-Potato and Pecan Pie, more like individual tartlets, is homey and fine.
Chocolate-covered strawberries are almost the size of an august peach, and if not perfectly ripe then rescued by their coat. Ice creams, are standard, not enough for you to forget Big Olaf's down the block. But the setting and style of B. Smith's are their own dessert. The season is here.
** (2 stars)
Assessment: Summer a week early
Open: Dinner and Lunch Monday to Saturday, Sunday brunch, Reservations recommended
Price Range: Dinner Main courses, $14 to $34; appetizers and salads $7 to $14; soups $8 to $9; Lunch entrees $9 to $15. Major credit cards accepted.
Directions: On the waterfront at the end of Main Street.
Wheelchair Access: One level dining room.
Four Stars: Outstanding
Three Stars: Excellent
Two Stars: Very Good
One: Good
None: Fair to Good
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